Recycle By (No) Numbers?

Question

Im a new recycler. I finally got my roomate to make the switch....but I have some questions about plastics (and yes I checked the forum for answers)

Can you recycle plastic items without the identification numbers? (no triangle, no number 1-7)

For example: My plastic cat food container reads "6T" on the bottom...no triangle, just 6T. What does it mean and can it be recycled?

I have tons of CD jewel cases I want to recycle but can I?

Im confused with all this plastic stuff.....

what about lids made of aluminum but coated with some sort of plastic on the inside (Im assuming its plastic), like vegie cans or pickle lids?

Do you throw those out?

The glass, aluminum, and paper I get... but the plastic is a little complicated.

Answer 1

You can recycle stuff without the numbers.  Not all manufacturers put numbers on things.

Look at the lid of the recycling bin in your dorm/apartment.  See what they won't take and then leave that out.

Jewel cases.  Those should be donated for reuse.  People pay money for them new so give them to goodwill or your buddy who likes to burn his own CDs.

Lids coated with plastic can be put in recycling.  The plastics burn off in the melting process.

My general take on it in an area with recycling is to put it in the bin and let the processor do what sorting they need to do.  That's what your waste collection fees pay for.

Answer 2

The plastic IS complicated, even for avid recyclers so don't worry.  The plastics that are accepted is different depending on where you live, and what your local agency collects.  I'm guessing they have a website that tells you all about what they do and do not take.

I live in San Francisco.  Just to give you a general idea, here are the rules here:

Plastics number 2, 4, 5, and 6 are accepted, and bottles of any number are accepted.  However, the caps to plastic water and soda bottles are not recyclable, and unfortunately that is true no matter where you are.  (Booo!)

And, if you have something like CD jewel cases, you should absolutely donate them.  Reuse and reduce are the two most important rules, recycle is next!  So if you've got anything that can reuse, I would either donate it to an agency like Goodwill, or Freecycle it!  (Not familar with Freecycle?  It's awesome!!  Check out http://www.freecycle.org/)

Hope that helps!  :)